rise_of_the_kingfandomcom-20200214-history
The Story So Far
Party was asked by local lord Hayward of Alduin Par to investigate farmsteads on the edge of his lands. Frightened refugees have come to town begging for help, describing famine, disease, unnatural weather and horrors taking people in the night. A group of guards was sent to investigate days ago but has not returned or sent word. They arrived by night at the farmstead of Artin, which neighbours an ancient unclaimed burial ground of a long-forgotten empire of man. The town is empty and covered in fog. They soon heard banging and find a lone zombie trying to breach a barn. When confronted, the zombie howled and called in undead hounds to support him. Inside the barn they found Joshua, the lone survivor of the group of guards, severely injured. He said that while investigating the nearby burial grounds, his group was ambushed by dead warriors emerging from the fog. The zombie outside was Balant, the hound-master. After being healed, he gave the party a vial of anti-toxin. Investigating the town, the party found a pair of gloves that turn out to be Gauntlets of Rust. The burial grounds were vast and covered with even thicker fog that seemed to deaden sound. A pervasive sense of unease descended upon the party while they were within the grounds. The fog got thicker and the sense of unease stronger the more they approached the king's tomb. Investigating the barrows revealed that they've been disturbed recently. When they neared the largest, oldest burial mound in the area, they were attacked by 4 skeletons who rose from the fog. While they battled, they sang the song of the wight-king. A faded inscription on the mound reads "Here lies __ng Cr___ll A good m__ once, driv__ _ad by g___f Wage_ _a_ up_n t__ g_ds and los_ May hi_ _pirit be re__ited wit_ his _amil_" The party recalled the tale of King Cromwell, who lost his entire family to various tragic accidents and went mad, leading his empire to ruin. Cromwell blamed the gods for the tragedies that befell his line and had all the temples in his kingdom destroyed, then declared war on neighbouring kingdoms so that he could wipe out all their temples as well, until none remained in the world. He was killed by a paladin of Moradin on the field of battle. The king claimed with his dying words that his bloodline would always oppose the gods, no matter what. The door to the tomb was heavily sealed, but the party broke in. Once inside, the fog faded away, but the sense of unease only grew stronger. Inside the tomb was a ghoul, which attacked the party violently. It revealed itself to be a former servant of Cromwell. The chamber had 6 coffins in it and a puzzle involving engravings. Once the puzzle was solved, the inner chamber of the tomb opens. Its walls are covered with runes and demonic symbols paying homage to Orcus. In the center of the room lies the coffin of the king. It is opened. Atop a bed of treasure* lies the gaunt figure of the wight king. It rises if the treasure is grabbed, if attacked, or if the party spends too long in the chamber. *50 gold pieces, 300 silver pieces, 500 copper pieces, 2 malachites (10 gold each), 1 black onyx (50 gems), and the king's sword. Any treasure taken by the PCs can be kept except the sword, which burns cold to the touch. If awoken, the Wight King rises into the air. The burial grounds begin to fill with the screams of the dead being forced into unlife. Soon their screams begin to coalesce into a terrible chanting. Everyone must make a DC 15 Wis save to escape being paralyzed by fear. If the party chooses to remain, the Wight-King speaks to them and tells them of his tragic past. He was King Cromwell, benevolent ruler of the greatest kingdom of man of his age. One by one, every member of his family succumbed to tragedies, each more cruel than the last. Blaming the gods for his misfortunes, he ordered all their temples razed in his kingdom and all priests and clerics banished. But this did nothing to quell his anger, so he set out on a mad campaign, planning to destroy every place of worship in neighbouring kingdoms and killing their holy men. Thousands died in this senseless war. A paladin of Moradin eventually put an end to his ambitions. But as he died, he swore that his bloodline would keep fighting the gods and their agents for all eternity, no matter what. His words were not empty: after turning from the gods, he had turned to demon worship and made a pact with Orcus. He had sired illegitimate sons during his reign, and they would carry on their father's grudge, empowered by the blood oath and helped by agents of Orcus. For decades they led raids, helped create cults to Orcus, killed clerics, and generally undermined the gods as they could. But they fought a losing battle, and over the centuries this once-noble line had degenerated into a handful of bandits with no real support to speak of. The last descendent of Cromwell had died trying to ambush a caravan on the outskirts of town a few weeks ago. But the rage of the king would not be stopped. The blood oath awoke him from the grave so that he could wage war anew against the gods, fueled by centuries-old dark magic. The Wight-King then attacks the party. If they flee, he does not pursue them, taunting them that soon there will be nowhere in the world that they can hide from him and his forces. After losing 2 allies to the evil of the Wight King, the party returned to lord Hayward, who promptly called an emergency meeting of the council of Anduin Par after they informed him of the undead threat at the edge of his lands. The party will have to convince them of whatever course of action they think is best. The members of the council are as follows: Lord Hayward is the lord of the lands of Greater Par. While he ultimately has final say, he has little experience dealing with a crisis like this and greatly values the opinion of the council. His disposition towards the party is Indifferent; he doesn't think they're lying, but suspects they may be exaggerating the scope of the threat. Guard Grand Captain Buckman is the leader of Lord Hayward's military forces. He commands the city guard of Alduin Par as well as the armed reserves and every militia in the region. A gruff former adventurer, he's seen many things in his life and understands all too well the threat the undead can pose. Joshua is his cousin's son, so he believes his account without reservation and is grateful to the party for rescuing him. His disposition is Friendly. He is convinced the town can withstand any attack with sufficient preparation, and favors directly confronting the enemy. Taklinn Ungart is the Dwarf leader of the merchant guild, and owner of the largest caravan company in town. He's completely opposed to any plan that would disrupt his business, such as preparing for a siege or evacuating. He is convinced the party is trying to run some kind of scam and that their story is pure fabrication. His disposition is Hostile. He has contacts with a mercenary outfit that could be hired to help defend the city or escort evacuees. Bareris Dyernina is the mayor of Riverlook, the largest town in Greater Par beside Alduin Par. He represents the interests of the various mayors and burgmeisters outside the capital. He is extremely concerned that a military conflict would afflict the poorer rural communities while the rich city folk huddle in the city. He strongly favors evacuation once convinced of the threat. His disposition is Indifferent. Adran Moonbrook is a middle-aged wizard and lord Hayward's magical advisor. An ambitious and impatient Half-Elf, he resents being dragged into this meeting while he was in the middle of an important experiment. As his divination has detected no threat, he's convinced the party are liars and wasting everyone's time. His disposition is Hostile. He believes his magic is more than enough to defend the city from serious threats, short of an ancient dragon. As such, he is against evacuating. Cefrey Hayward is Lord Hayward's daughter, and first in line to succeed him. Intelligent and compassionate, she is concerned for the fate of the region and grasps the threat perhaps a bit better than her father. She favors evacuation, hoping the fiefdom can be retaken later with the help of allies. Her disposition towards the party is Friendly. Grigor Dumein is the bishop of Alduin Par temple, devoted to Erathis, Bahamut and Pelor, and a cleric of Erathis. He's concerned with minimizing loss of life and understands how dangerous the undead can be. He's also loath to abandon the city to the undead unless convinced that there's simply too many of them to fight. He's able to call upon a detachment of paladins from the central temple of Bahamut. Between 3 sycamore trees lies a disguised trap door leading to a series of natural tunnels. At the end of these tunnels lies the cultists of orcus's secret lair. The door to the cultists' hideout is adorned with golden symbols venerating orcus, and is enchanted with a trap. If anyone who isn't a worshipper of orcus tries to open it, it zaps them for 1d10 necrotic damage and alerts the cultists to their presence. The trap can be detected with a DC 15 Arcana check. The spell can be removed with Dispel Magic, or by prying off the ornaments. Doing so without creating enough noise to alert the cultists is a DC 15 DEX check. Inside are 3 cultists, 1 bugbear and the cult leader. They immediately try to kill the intruders. The leader of the cultists, a halfling named Lotho, can tell the party that he gets his orders from a dwarven contact from the west named Bhastout Jadebreaker. 2 bloodstones (50gp) are on the altar. As they head towards the dwarven capital, the party comes upon some dwarven miners running for their lives. Their mining site has been overrun by monsters. If the party chooses to help them, they find the site overrun with 5 Grimlocks. A DC 18 perception check also allows them to spot a Rust Monster. The miners offer a +1 short sword as thanks for the rescue, as well as replacement for any gear that was damaged. If the mine shafts are investigated, a crack leading down to the underdark is discovered. The nearby small dwarven town of Gal Boldor is the next stop for the adventurers. Here, they find out that the road ahead has been rendered impassable by a rock slide. The mayor, Ursaem Greybelly, is willing to hear the adventurers out and provide some aid. The only path available to the dwarven capital is through the old mountain pass, which is fraught with dangers. Mayor Jadebreaker is found torturing Bastout in a rather graphic way in the city dungeon. It seems dishonoring the family name is something not taken lightly. The party must decide if they'll allow this brutal interrogation or convince him to take a more diplomatic path. Bastout may die if they choose poorly. Either way, they find out he had no idea he was helping a cult: one of his drinking buddies convinced him to put his seal on what he thought were authorizations to import elven wine while bypassing taxes. This friend's name is Graggour Cavebelt. A quick investigation shows he left town the night before, along with other dwarves he's been known to associate with. After finding out this information, the party must try to cross the mountains to reach the dwarven capital (DC 15 Survival). If the interrogation goes well, they have a dwarven guide (Rak Redhammer) who gives a +2 bonus to their survival checks. Along the way they meet a gryphon, which they end up fighting if they don't succeed in appeasing it. A second gryphon joins the fight on the third turn. They reach the Mountainhomes of Khog Thorim and when they inquire are told King Firebeard will see them in a few hours. They can explore the city and shop. Gaston is eyed suspiciously by the denizens. King Firebeard welcomes them, but their meeting is soon interrupted by the news that a massive amount of orcs has been spotted by the soldiers guarding the frozen battlefield. An alliance of 3 orc tribes has come to claim an ancient relic, an axe embedded deep into the ice that belonged to the late orc chieftain. After the titanic battle between dwarves and orcs, a mysterious lich appeared and stole the sacred axe, presumably for the wight king. Investigating the town in their downtime, the party found a strange stone in one of the cultist houses. The orcs, enraged at the betrayal, declared a truce with the dwarves and a company of 50 orcs, led by the Eye of Grummsh, is accompanying them into orcish lands to find clues as to the activities of the cult of orcus and the Wight King. The PCs are given a chest from the dwarven king as they depart. It contains a month's worth of dry rations and the following treasure: 2,553 Copper 1,018 Silver 17 Gold 1 set of navigator's tools (25 gp) 32 gallon(s) of ale (6.4 gp) 1 lbs. of exotic spices (15 gp) 2 lbs. of copper trade bars (1 gp) 4 obsidian worth 10 gp each onyx locket worth 25gp polished wood locket worth 25gp jade figurine worth 25gp Potion of Healing Alchemy Jug They learn about the various orc tribes on their way. The Head-Cleaver tribe lead the warband against the dwarves and is the tribe of the ancient orc chieftain who was killed on the battlefield. They are the largest and most influential of the tribes, and also one of the most ruthless. They fully embrace the teachings of Gruumsh, that might makes right and the weak are to be conquered or crushed. Despite this chaotic ethos, they are sticklers for tradition. The Bloody Grin tribe are cannibals and torturers. By far the most vicious of the orcs, the Eye of Gruumsh recommends the players steer clear of them. Despite their depravity, they are not demon worshippers. The Wolfslammer tribe are great hunters and obsessed with physical prowess, even by the standards of orcs. Their coming of age ritual involves a young orc killing a dire wolf (or even fiercer prey) with their bare hands. Their respect for feats of strength means they have a few non-orcs in the tribe, including a goliath. The Grim Cloak tribe are more spiritual orcs, featuring many spellcasters, augurers, oracles, priests, and so on. Mysterious and favoring secrets, they are closest to the Witch of the Woods. The White Scar clan have turned their backs on Gruumsh and refused to join the warband. Despite their more peaceful ways, they maintain an uneasy truce with the other orc tribes in memory of the old alliance. They rarely communicate or trade with the other tribes unless they absolutely must. The Witch of the Woods is a powerful, ancient reclusive orc crone with amazing powers of prophecy and knowledge of medicine and spirits. Though she holds no official position of leadership, her advice has guided the tribes for many decades and kept the peace between them in even the most tumultuous times. She was the one who was approached by the envoys of the Wight King and brought their offer to the tribal leaders. Before they reach the capital, the party runs into a group of ogres, decked out in mismatched armor (one of them has a cauldron with eyeholes cut out on his head), carrying a crude version of the orc war banners. Their leader Dorag explains they are headed to the orc/dwarf war to serve as mercenaries, after getting lost in the woods and losing one of their group, Kronk. They become greatly upset when they find out they missed the entire thing. They party has to tread carefully lest they decide the boars, orcs and PCs make a fine consolation feast. Resolving the situation either way grants 180 xp. After arriving in the central orc camp, the party is immediately confronted by several orcs who oppose the truce and their very presence. A Half-Ogre called Gruntz challenges one member of the party to a duel. The party must then investigate which of the orc tribes was in on the betrayal, if any. The party then goes to meet the Witch Woman of the woods. They can find out that she has secretly been turned into a Wight by the Wight King, and a fight ensues. The Grim Cloak tribe are reticent at first but end up trusting the PCs. They tell the tale of the Witch Woman. Then they ask the PCs to go through a spiritual trial for guidance from the earth spirits. The spirits reveal that the Bloody Grin tribe are the ones who dealt with Orcus. A tribal council is held as a trap for the tribe's leader, but they reveal a lich as their ally when the trap is sprung.